Writer and poet, founder of an “anti-violence” movement. Juraj Cintula, 71, from Levice, southern Slovakia, has been identified by Slovak media as the man who shot Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico yesterday as he was meeting a crowd of supporters in Handlova, north-east of Bratislava.
According to local newspapers, Cintula used a legally registered short-barreled pistol to carry out the attack. Before aiming the weapon and shooting Fico, according to the reconstruction, the man shouted at the prime minister. Just then the prime minister approached the man to shake his hand and he fired a few shots until the police intervened and immobilized him (VIDEO).
The anti-violence movement
Describing the attacker, the Slovak media underline how Cintula founded an anti-violence movement in her hometown in 2015, arguing that “every normal person rejects violence. Our goal is to unite people, preserve peace and restore democracy. But it’s very difficult because no one trusts anyone anymore. The world is full of chaos and hatred.”
On its Facebook page, the ‘Movement Against Violence’ describes itself as an “emerging political party whose goal is to prevent the spread of violence in society. To prevent war in Europe and the spread of hatred.” The last post is from April 2022, a few weeks after the start of the war in Ukraine.
Connections with pro-Russian groups
Cintula is also believed to be linked to the pro-Russian group Slovenski Branci. A Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi unearthed Facebook posts showing Cintula as a sympathizer and supporter of the pro-Russian paramilitary group, known for its ties to the Kremlin. In another post, he criticized Fico’s government for failing to crack down on gambling. “In every city or village there is a slot machine where players masturbate for money borrowed from their entire family and acquaintances, it amounts to tens of thousands of euros. What is the state doing about this?”, he said. written.
The attack and the poetry circle
It turned out that in 2016, while working as a security guard at a supermarket in Levice, Cintula was attacked by a man and was injured.
Cintula, who was president of the Duha Literary Club until his departure in 2016, wrote three poems which were published on the club’s Facebook page. They were called ‘Dream of a Rebel’, ‘Diptych and Wasps’, and he is also a member of the Slovak Writers’ Association. Cintula has also posted several political videos on YouTube and Facebook. In one of these, dating back 8 years ago, he said: “The world is full of violence and weapons. People seem to be going mad. Many migrants are flocking to Europe, hatred and extremism reign everywhere. But the worst thing is that governments of European states have no alternatives to this chaos.”
